SUNBURY, Pa. -- Christmas is less than two weeks away, but New Year's Eve is also on the minds of some people in Sunbury. For the past few years, the city celebrated by dropping a large light bulb on Market Street.
"People who wouldn't normally be downtown would be coming down that night, so it would be new faces and new energy. I think that helps with the downtown energy in general," Mellie Deppen said.
The New Year's Eve celebration is organized by Sunbury Revitalization. But for the second year in a row, the group announced the event is canceled. A spokesperson for Sunbury Revitalization says it's due to a lack of volunteers.
"It's very disappointing. It's too bad it won't happen this year. I guess we have to learn from that and make sure that it happens next year," Bob Snyder said.
Snyder owns the Squeeze In and the Dip In and always provided hot dogs for the event. Business owners say New Year's Eve is a big night for them.
"Everything is right here on our block. It would be a perfect time for us to invite people into Frank and Mellie's for a slice of pizza or hot chocolate. We were looking forward to that," Deppen said.
Last year's New Year's Eve celebration was canceled because the event's main sponsor pulled out due to the cold weather.
Even though the main event isn't happening, some businesses are still planning celebrations.
"We're doing free hot chocolate and free coffee all day on both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, so we're doing our little part right there," Snyder said.
A representative for Sunbury Revitalization says they would like to bring it back in the future, but volunteers are needed for that to happen.